MS Dhoni, the India captain, hit a match-winning 45 off 52 deliveries, including 16 runs off the last over, to take India home by one wicket in the final of the Celkon Mobile Tri-Nation Series Cup on Thursday (July 11). Rangana Herath took four wickets to bring Sri Lanka back into the game after Rohit Sharma had anchored India’s chase with a stoic 89-ball 58. India survived the nervy last few overs before Dhoni unleashed himself to revive memories of the World Cup final against the same opponent two years ago. Earlier, Sri Lanka, from a comfortable 171/2, lost eight wickets for 30 runs and folded for a tame 201. Ravindra Jadeja, the most incisive with the ball on a… Read More →

Sri Lanka collapsed to 96 all out on Tuesday (July 9) as India came from behind in the Celkon Mobile Tri-Nations Series to qualify for the final. India needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 167 to reach the final, which will take place on Thursday, in a rain-curtailed match and Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke the back of the Sri Lankan top order to allow India to sail on. In the process, India picked up a bonus point as well and finished on top of the points table, which looked highly unlikely after its twin defeats in Jamaica earlier in the tournament. India’s innings was called to a close at 119 for 3 in 29 overs and Sri Lanka was set a revised target of… Read More →

Kumar Sangakkara, the man of the match, showed for all to see how to bat on a demanding pitch by scoring an unbeaten 90 to help Sri Lanka secure an excellent win in its triangular series league tie against West Indies at Port of Spain on Monday (July 8). Sangakkara’s brilliance helped Sri Lanka, overnight 60 for three in 19 overs when play was halted due to rain, post 219 for eight in an innings interrupted twice more by the elements and eventually reduced to 41 overs a side. West Indies’ revised target was 230 from 41 overs, but it settled for 190 for nine, handing Sri Lanka victory by 39 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method and thrusting it to… Read More →

On a pitch with bounce and seam movement, Sri Lanka was tottering at 60 for 3 in 19 overs when rain arrived to bring the curtains down on the day’s play on Sunday (July 7) at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Play will resume on Monday, the reserve day, with Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne trying to rebuild after the initial strikes by the West Indian bowlers. Kieron Pollard, who was leading West Indies following Dwayne Bravo’s one-match suspension due to slow over-rate, won the toss and elected to bowl first on a pitch that had a greenish tinge and also keeping the weather in mind. Sri Lanka dropped Kusal Perara and Rangana Herath and brought in Jeevan Mendis and… Read More →

A career-best 174 not out by Man of the Match Upul Tharanga and his record-breaking 213-run partnership with Mahela Jayawardene helped Sri Lanka beat India by 161 runs in the third match of the Celkon Mobile Tri-Nations Series Cup in Kingston on Tuesday (July 2). India, with poor displays in all departments of the game, was thoroughly outplayed and looked nothing like the No. 1-ranked side that won the Champions Trophy just nine days ago. Chasing 349 to win, India needed to fire from the word ‘go’, but lost Rohit Sharma in the fifth over to a sharp catch by Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan captain, off Nuwan Kulasekara’s bowling. While Shikhar Dhawan hit three bright boundaries after a watchful… Read More →

Chris Gayle stamped his muscular authority on the opening match of the Celkon Mobile Tri Nations Cup, guiding West Indies to an easy six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka after Sunil Narine and Ravi Rampaul took seven wickets between them to dismiss Sri Lanka for a paltry 208. Sri Lanka lost its last eight wickets for just 104 runs and there wasn’t too much drama after that as West Indies coasted to the win. It became quite apparent early on in the chase that Sri Lanka won’t be able to defend a small target when Angelo Mathews, their captain and one of the safer fielders in the side, dropped a simple chance offered by Johnson Charles off Nuwan Kulasekara. Sri Lanka… Read More →